Curtis Breidis says title fight “left me a bit disappointed”

Curtis Blaydes is finally getting his shot at UFC gold, but it's not under ideal circumstances.

First, Blaze preliminary Tom Aspinall will defend his heavyweight title at UFC 304 (ESPN+ pay-per-view) on July 27 in Manchester, England, but he's not too worried about that.

“In an ideal world, it'd be Aspinall vs. John (Jones) in a title unification fight, but that's not the world we live in,” Blaydes told reporters backstage at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver last weekend. “UFC has had a lot of weird, wacky fights in the past. … It's normal at UFC. It's not like, 'Oh my God,' it's normal.”

What's unusual are the circumstances surrounding this fight. Even though UFC 304 takes place in the UK, the promotion is sticking with the traditional pay-per-view start time of 10 p.m. ET, which is five hours behind local time in Manchester, meaning Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) and Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will face off in the middle of the night or late hours. very early morning.

That part seems to be bothering Blaze.

“The biggest difference is that the fight will be at 4 a.m., which is why it won't feel like a real title fight,” Blaydes said. “McGregor isn't fighting at 4 a.m. anywhere in the world. It feels a little lame, but I don't mind. I'm getting the title fight money, that's all that matters.”

Blades said they were not doing anything special to prepare for the time change and would arrive in Manchester on July 21 and have a normal match week.

“If I'm tired five minutes before they call my name, I feel like that's my fault,” Blaydes said. “If I can't get up in a title fight, I don't deserve it. That's how I prepare.”

The 33-year-old Blaydes has waited years for this title opportunity to come to fruition and was on the brink of winning it until he was knocked out by Derrick Lewis in 2021. But Blaydes has won four of his last five fights to secure a rematch with Aspinall that means everything to him.

But it's business as usual.

“There's always pressure,” Blaydes said. “Nobody wants to lose. Nobody wants to get knocked out in front of millions on TV. Whether it's a prelim or whatever, there's always pressure. I don't want to lose, but there's no particular pressure because it's a title fight. There's always just the pressure of the fight.”

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 304 event hub.